Yarn-processing apparatus

ABSTRACT

Yarn-processing apparatus including a belt-driven yarn transporting roll mounted for convenient adjustment of its inclination and for substantially constant belt tension in all adjustive positions. A heater block associated with the roll is shaped to facilitate the removal of yarn wraps therefrom.

United States Patent lnventor Appl. No.

Filed Patented Assignee John D. Page Clemson, SC.

Mar. 5, 1969 Jan. 2, 1971 Maremout Corporation a corporation of Illinois [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,254,251 9/1941 Uytenbogaart 18/8X 2,558,731 7/1951 Cresswell 18/8X 3,254,818 6/1966 Jacobsen 226/18OX Primary Examiner-Richard A. Schacher Attorney-Joseph l-l. Heard 5 claims4 Drawing Figs ABSTRACT: Yarn-processing apparatus including a belt- U.S. Cl 226/180, driven yarn transporting roll mounted for convenient adjust- 226/188, 226/190 ment of its inclination and for substantially constant belt ten- Int. Cl B65h 17/20 sion in all adjustive positions. A heater block associated with Field of Search ..28/62,71.3; the 'roll is shaped to facilitate the removal of yarn wraps 226/179, 180, 188, 190, I08 therefrom.

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A w K Z 0 W F 1 W 4 l K 26 42 s mg PATENTED JAN 1 2 I97! INVENT OR JOHN 0. P465 YARN-PROCESSING APPARATUS This invention relates to yarn processing apparatus of the A type including a belt-driven and angularly adjustable yarn transporting roll associated with one or more additional yarnengaging members, such as a heater and/or a second roll, about which the yarn is passed in a plurality of loops while being transported between two points. Such apparatus is comrnonly employed in processing continuous filament yarn, as in drawing or shrinking operations. I

In apparatus of the aforesaid type, it is known to angularly adjust the belt-driven roller, which may be cylindrical or conical or of other desired shape, so as to vary as desired the spacing between the yarn loops thereabout. However, such adjustment has all too frequently heretofore been difficult and time consuming to make and has resulted in improper tensioning and/or stressing of the drive belt imparting rotation of the roll. The problems of properly and simultaneously adjusting roll inclination and belt tension are increased when the apparatus is heated, since production demands usually do not permit deferring adjustment until such time as the components have cooled sufficiently to be manually handled with comfort. Another problem encountered with one known type of heated apparatus is that of removing unwanted yarn wraps from about a yam-transporting roll partially encircled by one end of a heater block about which the yarn also passes. The removal of such wraps while the apparatus is in operation presents hazards to both machinery and personnel, even when in accordance with standard procedures a hook-shaped rod is employed to slide the wraps to and from the rolls free end, since there is usually insufficient space and support for safe use of the tool.

The present invention provides an apparatus of the described type wherein angular adjustment of the driven roll can be accomplished with speed and facility, even when the apparatus is in operation and is heated, without appreciably varying the optimum tension of the drive belt and without imposing stresses thereon which would tend to cause its premature failure. In a preferred embodiment wherein the apparatus includes a heater block closely associated with the yarn-transporting roll, the invention also provides a construction permitting the removal of yarn wraps from the roll to be accomplished quickly, easily and without endangering either the operator or the machinery.

The foregoing and other features of the invention can best be understood from the following description of an illustrative embodiment thereof, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus, partially in elevation and partially in vertical section taken substantially along the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section taken substantially along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a horizontal section taken substantially along the line 4-4 ofFIG. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the apparatus generally includes a casting defining'a frame 10; a pair of spaced yarn-transporting rolls 12, 12 of the godet type; means mounting said rolls for rotative and adjustive movement including roll shafts 14, 14, mounting brackets 16, 16' and adjustment shafts 18, 18', respectively; means including input shaft 20, pulleys 22, 24, 24' and drive belts 26, 26' for imparting rotative movement to rolls 12, 12', respectively; and heater means including a heater block 28.

Frame 10 is provided at its rear face with spaced mounting flanges 30 by which it is adapted to be bolted or otherwise secured to the wall 32 of a yarn processing machine, such as a drawtwister, from which driven input shaft 20 extends. Pulley 22 is keyed to the end of shaft 20 for rotation therewith in the space defined between flanges 30, wall 32 and central web 34 of frame 10. Further enclosure of the aforesaid space may be achieved by providing removable covers (not shown) across the respective upper ends and the lower ends of flanges 30.

Projecting'forwardly from the opposite face of web 34 of frame 10 is a peripheral flange 36 and a pair of spaced bosses 38, 38', the latter having threaded bores opening forwardly from flat surfaces provided thereon. Heater block 28 is secured to bosses 38 of frame 10, so as to extend forwardly therefrom, by a mounting plate 40 and bolts 42. Block 28 is heated during operation by any desired means, such as a resistance-type heating element (not shown) disposed therewithin and connected to a power source, and an insulating plate 44 is preferably disposed between it and plate 40 to minimize heat transmission to frame 10. At the sides of block 28 and elsewhere about the frame's periphery a trim strip 43 extends about and inwardly from flange 36.

Aligned bores extending vertically through flange 36 and boss 38 receive the opposite ends of vertical adjustment shaft 18 and support the shaft for movement both about and lon gitudinally of its axis. lnterrnediate its ends shaft 18 passes through one of two perpendicular bores of bracket '16. A pin 39 fixedly interconnects the bracket and shaft for movement in unison, and a compression spring 41 encircling the shaft below bracket 16 biases them upwardly as viewed in FIG. 3. Roll shaft 14 projects forwardly and rearwardly through the second bore of bracket 16, in closely adjacent and perpendicular relationship to adjustment shaft l8, and bearings within the bore support shaft 14 for rotative movement about its axis and for adju'stive pivotal and translatory movement with bracket 16 relative to the axis of shaft 18. Roll 12 is keyed or otherwise suitably secured to the forwardly projecting end portion of shaft 14. While a generally cylindrical roll is shown, it may if desired be conical or of other desired shape. The rearwardly projecting portion of shaft 14 extends through an opening 46 provided in web 34 of frame 10 and mounts pulley 24 in substantial alignment with the pulley 22 upon input shaft 20. Belt 26 is entrained at its opposite ends about pulleys 22,24, passing evenly thereover so as to enjoy uniform tension distribution across its width, and during operation transmits rotative movement to pulley 24 and thus to the roll 12 at the opposite end of shaft 14. Since spring 41, acting through bracket 16 and shaft 14, biases pulley 24 away from pulley '22, the force of such spring determines the magnitude of belt 26s tension. By suitable selection of a spring of the proper force, there is produced within belt 26 a tension best suited for its operation and design specifications.

The axis of shaft 18 extends perpendicular to the axial planes of both roll shaft 12 and input shaft 20. Adjustive pivotal movement of shaft 14 and roll 12 about the axis of shaft 18 is therefore always in a plane parallel to the plane of input shaft 20 and in a direction transverse to the major portion of belt 26 extending between shafts 14, 2t). Adjustment of roll l2s inclination does not vertically or otherwise so tilt pulley 24 relative to pulley 22 as to cause any appreciable differential tensioning of belt 26 in the width direction. which if permitted would encourage belt failure, but rather only produces some twisting of that portion of the belt intermediate the pulleys.

As is best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a pair of setscrews 50 extend through threaded bores of flange 36 of frame 10 and into engagement with points upon bracket 16 which are spaced on opposite sides of the axis of shaft 18. By appropriate manipulation of screws 50, roll 12 may be pivotally moved about shaft 18s axis to a desired position, and can then be there releasably maintained until further adjustment is desired. Another setscrew 52 extends through flange 36 and boss 38 of frame 10, to engage shaft 18 and releasably maintain the same against axial movement.

The second yarn transporting roll 12 at the opposite end 0 frame 10 is shown as being mounted and driven in the same manner as roll 12; and corresponding components are identified by the. same reference numerals with the addition of prime designations. A second roll need not be provided in all instances, and if provided need not necessarily be identical to roll 12.

During use of the apparatus, a continuous filament yarn Y passes about rolls 12, 12 in a plurality of loops, three being shown in FIG. 2, while the rolls are rotated by shaft 20 so as to During its passage between rolls 12, 12'', the yarn engages and is heated by the convex sides of heater block 28. Adjustment of the spacing between the yarn loops may be achieved by varying the inclination of roll 12 and/or 12', which in the present apparatus can be done quite readily without appreciably varying the magnitude or uniform distribution of the tension upon the drive belts 26, 26'. To adjust the inclination of roll 12, for instance, setscrew 52 and one of the setscrews 50 are first retracted somewhat, and the second screw 50 is advanced. Such advancement pivots bracket 16 and therefore roll 12 horizontally about the vertical axis of adjustment shaft 18. When the desired inclination of roll 12 has been thus realized, the loosened setscrew 50 may be again tightened to assist in releasably locking the roll in place. The aforesaid pivotal movement of shaft 14 from its central position displaces its pulley 24 from the pulley 22 upon input shaft 20. Such displacement does not result in any variation in the tension of belt 26, however, but rather only in a slight downward shift of bracket 16 against the impetus of spring 41. Setscrew 52,

i which is provided merely to prevent possible floating movement of roll 12 during operation, may therefore be retightened immediately after adjustment of roll 12s inclination with the assurance that the desired tension in belt 26 has been automaticaLly maintained. The tension remains uniformly distributed across the width of the belt, since the adjustment occasioned only twisting of the belts'intermediate portions and not tilting of its running surfaces.

Roll 12 can of course be pivoted to either the right or the left as viewed in FIG. 1, and roll 12. is capable of similar ad justment in either direction independently of roll 12.

Referring now primarily to FIGS. 1 and 2, heater block 28 is provided with concave end surfaces enclosing and conforming in curvature to peripheral segments of rolls 12, 1 2', and positioned as closely adjacent thereto'as the rolls adjustment capability permits. While this construction affords certain benefits, it has in previously known apparatus presented problems when during operation unwanted filament wraps have formed about one of the rolls, as sometimes happens upon breakage of a filament within the yarn being processed. Such wraps are customarily removed by inserting a rod or tool, formed of wood or similar nonabrasive material and having a hook or bill at its end, between the roll in question and the adjacent heater block surface. The tool is forced intoengagement with the rolls periphery and maintained in such engagement as it is withdrawn toward the rolls free end, thus sliding the wrap to and from such roll end. Since previously the tool has had to be positioned and manipulated in engage:

tnent with the rotating roll in a very confined space with no guidance other than that provided by the operator, the foregoing procedure has not always effected removal of a wrap on the first attempt and has sometimes resulted in the tool being torn from the operators grasp and becoming wedged between the adjacent surfaces of the roll and heater block. With the foregoing problems in mind, heater block 28 is provided at its concave end surfaces with grooves 54, 54' adapted to receive and guide the usual hook-shape rod or tool, shown in phantom lines and identified by the numeral 56 in FIG. 2 employed by an operator to remove unwanted wraps from the adjacent rolls l2, 12, respectively. Groove 54 extends completely through block 28 from front to rear at the center of its concave upper end surface, and is therefore approximately equidistant from the block convex yarn engaging side surfaces. The sidewalls roll 12, so as to engage and guide tool 56 during its insertion in 'and'removal from the groove. Such guidance is of course particularly beneficial during the tools withdrawal from the groove since at that time the tool tends to be laterally displaced by its engagement with the rotating roll 12.

lf a yarn wrap should appear upon roll 12. an operator in serts tool 56 within roove 54, hook-end leading. and moves the tool longitudinal y of the groove to its inner end. No particular care or attention on the part of the operator is required, since the sides of the'groove guide the rod during such movement. The operator then forces the tool upwardly while withdrawing it outwardly from groove 54. This brings its hook-shaped end into engagement with the periphery of roll 12 and the wrap thereon, and results in the wrap being removed from the roll as the tool is removed from the groove. Any tendency of tool 56 to be seized by the rotating roll 12 is overcome through its engagement with that sidewall of groove 54 facing the direction of movement of the adjacent periphery of the roll. Y

Groove 54 is of the same construction as groove 54, and is utilized in the same manner by an operator removing a wrap from roll 12'. In the latter case, tool 56 would of course be inserted into the groove 54' with itshook-shaped end facing downwardly rather than upwardly.

Although specific terms have been used in describing a preferred embodiment of the invention, it isto be understood that the terms are not used in a limiting'sense, but rather in a descriptive sense, the scope of the invention being defined in the following claims.

lclaim:

1. Yarn-processing apparatus, comprising a yarn-transporting roll, a roll shaft supporting said roll at one end, means mounting said roll shaft for rotative movement about its axis and for adjustive movement pivotally about and longitudinally of a second axis extending transversely to said roll shaft axis, drive means for imparting said rotative movement to said roll shaft, said drive means including a drive belt connected to said roll shaft and extending therefrom transverse to the path of said adjustive pivotal movement of said roll shaft, and means for tensioning said drive belt, said tensioning means including resilient means biasing said roll shaft longitudinally of said second axis.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said drive means further includes an input shaft, said drive belt being connected to and driven by said input shaft for imparting said rotative move ment to said roll shaft, said input and roll shafts lying within substantially parallel planes approximately perpendicular to said second axis.

.3. Apparatus as in claim 1, including means for imparting said adjustive pivotal movement to said roll shaft.

4. Apparatus as in claim 1, including a frame, an adjustment shaft mounted by said frame coaxial with said second axis for said adjustive pivotal and longitudinal movement, a bracket carried by said adjustment shaft for adjustive movement therewith, and said bracket mounting said roll shaft for said rotative movement about its axis.

5. Apparatus as in claim 4, including means for imparting said adjustive pivotal movement to said roll shaft and for releasably maintaining said roll shaft in a desired position of pivotal adjustment, said means comprising a pair of adjustment screw members carried by said frame and engageable with said bracket on opposite sides of said second axis. 

1. Yarn-processing apparatus, comprising a yarn-transporting roll, a roll shaft supporting said roll at one end, means mounting said roll shaft for rotative movement about its axis and for adjustive movement pivotally about and longitudinally of a second axis extending transversely to said roll shaft axis, drive means for imparting said rotative movement to said roll shaft, said drive means including a drive belt connected to said roll shaft and extending therefrom transverse to the path of said adjustive pivotal movement of said roll shaft, and means for tensioning said drive belt, said tensioning means including resilient means biasing said roll shaft longitudinally of said second axis.
 2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein said drive means further includes an input shaft, said drive belt being connected to and driven by said input shaft for imparting said rotative movement to said roll shaft, said input and roll shafts lying within substantially parallel planes approximately perpEndicular to said second axis.
 3. Apparatus as in claim 1, including means for imparting said adjustive pivotal movement to said roll shaft.
 4. Apparatus as in claim 1, including a frame, an adjustment shaft mounted by said frame coaxial with said second axis for said adjustive pivotal and longitudinal movement, a bracket carried by said adjustment shaft for adjustive movement therewith, and said bracket mounting said roll shaft for said rotative movement about its axis.
 5. Apparatus as in claim 4, including means for imparting said adjustive pivotal movement to said roll shaft and for releasably maintaining said roll shaft in a desired position of pivotal adjustment, said means comprising a pair of adjustment screw members carried by said frame and engageable with said bracket on opposite sides of said second axis. 